The new German government, struggling under the weight of debt and budget deficits, defaulted on the payments in gold-backed marks that it was obligated to make. France then tried to put on the pressure by occupying the Ruhr , an industrial region in western Germany. Eventually, the United States came up with the idea of lending money t o Germany to pay the reparations. In the end, though, the Allies got very little money from Germany, and the reparations were cancelled at the Lausanne Conference in Anger over the imagined betrayal, in turn, helped fuel the rise of populism and nationalism that eventually led to the rise of Hitler, who proceeded to violate the treaty by rearming Germany.
Hitler subsequently defied other provisions as well, including re-militarizing the Rhineland and joining into a union with Austria. After bullying the British and French into abandoning yet another provision of the Versailles treaty by giving in to his territorial demands upon Czechoslovakia in , the Nazi leader was sufficiently emboldened to invade Poland and start World War II in But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you.
Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Recommended for you. Alsace-Lorraine returned to France. Germany forbidden to unite with Austria. Danzig made a free city under League of Nations control. All Germany's colonies taken and given to France and Britain as 'mandates'. The German army restricted to , men. The German navy restricted to six battleships and no submarines. He was a politician and politicians needed the support of the public to succeed in elections. If he had come across as being soft on Germany, he would have been speedily voted out of office.
However, in private Lloyd George was also very concerned with the rise of communism in Russia and he feared that it might spread to western Europe. After the war had finished, Lloyd George believed that the spread of communism posed a far greater threat to the world than a defeated Germany. Privately, he felt that Germany should be treated in such a way that left her as a barrier to resist the expected spread of communism. He did not want the people of Germany to become so disillusioned with their government that they turned to communism.
Lloyd George did not want Germany treated with lenience but he knew that Germany would be the only country in central Europe that could stop the spread of communism if it burst over the frontiers of Russia. Germany had to be punished but not to the extent that it left her destitute. However, it would have been political suicide to have gone public with these views. Georges Clemenceau of France had one very simple belief — Germany should be brought to its knees so that she could never start a war again.
This reflected the views of the French public but it was also what Clemenceau himself believed in. He had seen the north-east corner of France destroyed and he determined that Germany should never be allowed to do this again.
Woodrow Wilson of America had been genuinely stunned by the savagery of the Great War. He could not understand how an advanced civilisation could have reduced itself so that it had created so much devastation. In America , there was a growing desire for the government to adopt a policy of isolation and leave Europe to its own devices. In failing health, Wilson wanted America to concentrate on itself and, despite developing the idea of a League of Nations , he wanted an American input into Europe to be kept to a minimum.
He believed that Germany should be punished but in a way that would lead to European reconciliation as opposed to revenge. The main points in this document were:. He was frequently left on the sidelines when the important negotiations took place despite Italy fighting on the side of the Allies. Why was Italy treated in this manner? Also Italy had not played an overwhelming part in the war. Her army had been beaten at the battles of Caporetto. Her strategic importance to central Europe was minimal whilst Britain dominated the Mediterranean with naval bases in Malta and Gibraltar.
Therefore, the three main nations in the lead up to the treaty were far from united on how Germany should be treated. The eventual treaty seemed to satisfy everyone on the sides of the Allies.
The treaty can be divided into a number of sections; territorial, military, financial and general. The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum.
Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states : Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received some of this land. She was not allowed an airforce. She was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines. No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone. The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years. The loss of vital industrial territory would be a severe blow to any attempts by Germany to rebuild her economy.
Coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular was a vital economic loss. Combined with the financial penalties linked to reparations, it seemed clear to Germany that the Allies wanted nothing else but to bankrupt her.
Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria to form one superstate, in an attempt to keep her economic potential to a minimum.
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